A LITTLE LESS SIXTEEN CANDLES; A LITTLE MORE TOUCH ME // Karl Jacobs X Reader

15

Karl grabbed your hand and took off, sprinting away from the circle and down the street. You stumbled, getting up as he tugged you, your feet slapping the ground as you ran. Behind you, you could hear laughter and shrieks. It felt like you were seven years old again. 

Karl giggled as he ran, looking back over his shoulder. "Okay. We need a plan."

"Did you have something in mind?" You asked. 

Karl turned a corner, your connected hands tugging you along as well. "We need to find a good hiding spot first!"

You stumbled a bit, but kept running, following Karl as he weaved in and out of houses, stomping his way through backyards and gardens. Eventually, he stopped at the back door to a squat little bungalow, heading up the steps and inside. 

You followed along, taking in the darkened room. It seemed like any house - relatively tidy but still lived in, and full of nooks and crannies for hiding.

"We should try the basement." You said. "There's bound to be good hiding spots down there-"

"Basements are terrifying what are you talking about?" Karl said. "No way. I'm not going down there."

"Fine then." You said, going to unweave your hand from his. "I'll hide in the basement, and you-"

Karl squeezed your hand tighter, turning to you with a pleading look on his face. "Wait, wait. I had an idea."

"Okay." You settled your hand back into his hold. Now that you weren't running, the weight of his hand in yours made your breath catch in your throat. There was something about it that was just so comforting... you never wanted to let go.

"We should hide together." Karl said. "I know it seems counter intuitive, but hear me out. If we're in the same spot, when someone comes to find us, one of us gives it up, and they'll walk away thinking that they found everyone here, and then the other one can win." 

You rolled the tentative plan over in your head. "That's actually really smart."

"We'll have to find a hiding spot big enough for both of us though." Karl said. 

"Then let's start looking, we only have a couple minutes." You said. 

Karl let go of your hand, heading into one of the other rooms of the house. "No basement though!"

"Alright fine." You said. 

Instead of heading into the basement, you headed up a little flight of stairs and into the loft of the bungalow. It seemed to be some sort of attic space, filled with old furniture and bins covered in white sheets. This would be perfect.

You began poking around, looking for the perfect hiding space. It would have to be somewhere Jimmy and Chandler wouldn't think to look, but also somewhere that could fit the both of you for Karl's plan. You checked in some of the bigger trunks and bins, but if you wanted to both fit inside, you would have to spend time unloading all of the contents. 

You were just about to give up the search and head back downstairs when you spotted a wardrobe, tucked away into a corner of the attic, half covered by a white sheet. 

You stepped forward, and opened the door. There was nothing inside, and it could hold both of you. It would be a tight fit, but it could work. 

"Karl!" You shouted.

You could hear him pad to the bottom of the stairs. "Yeah?"

"Come up here, I found it!" You said.

Karl made his way up the stairs, poking his head up to see where you were. When he fully emerged from the staircase, you presented the wardrobe proudly, swinging the doors open so that he could see inside. 

Karl made his way over, peering into the wardrobe with a smile. "That's perfect!" He said. "Nice job."

"Thank you." You said proudly. 

Karl stepped into the wardrobe, backing up against the side to leave room for you. Once he was situated, you got in, grabbing the door and closing it, blocking out all the light. In the pitch blackness, you could hear Karl's soft breathing. 

You moved to get more comfortable, and stepped on his foot. 

"Ow-"

"Shit." You said, stepping back. "Sorry-"

"No, it's fine, it's fine." He said, reaching out tentatively. His hand brushed your shoulder and moved down your arm until he found your hand. "Here." 

Slowly, he maneuvered you so that you weren't so squished against the other wall, but instead your back was pressed to his chest, and Karl's chin was resting in your shoulder. You could feel your heart pounding, and every breath that left your lungs was sharp and excited - he was practically holding you.

Strangely, you could feel Karl's heart beating too. 

"You alright?" You asked. 

"I'm fine." He said. "Just a little scared of the dark. And I invited this person I have a crush on to play hide and seek with me, and now we're in a wardrobe together."

You could feel your face heat up, and chose not to acknowledge that second part. "I didn't know you were scared of the dark."

"Just a little." He said, breath whooshing past your ear. "It was worse when I was a kid."

"Everything's worse when you're a kid." You laughed. 

Karl giggled, pressing his face into the crook of your shoulder. One of his hands came up to wrap around your middle, and you could feel him laughing. 

Inside, you were about to implode. The feeling of him being so close, and solid and holding you like he was had your heart doing wild things.  All the nights where you had stayed up texting him, wishing you could be having those conversations in real life, came flooding back to you, and you melted into his hold. Finally.

"Karl..." You started, a million different things on the tip of your tongue. You wanted to put to words how he made you feel - how happy you were around him, how everything he did made you smile, how seeing him here, in his element, made you see a whole other side to him-

But then you heard the creak of the door opening downstairs.